Florida Woman Convicted In Money Laundering Scheme

U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs announced that a Jacksonville, Florida, woman has pleaded guilty to federal violations in the Eastern District of Texas.

Sharena Seay, 39, pleaded guilty to money laundering before U.S. Magistrate Judge John D. Love on April 11, 2024. According to information presented in court, Seay laundered the proceeds of her drug trafficking operations through cryptocurrency. The defendant supplied alpha-pyrrolidinopentiophenone (alpha-PVP), often called “flakka,” and similar synthetic cathinones like Eutylone or alpha-PiHP. Seay distributed alpha-PVP and other controlled substances to various customers across the United States. Customers who purchased controlled substances from Seay paid for their purchases with cash. Seay laundered the cash proceeds through cryptocurrency to buy more controlled substances on the dark web and to conceal her criminal activity.

Seay faces up to 20 years in federal prison at sentencing. The maximum statutory sentence prescribed by Congress is provided here for information purposes, as the sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing will be after completing a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations threatening the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. You can find additional information about the OCDETF Program at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with the assistance of the Internal Revenue Service—Criminal Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, investigated the case, which was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nathaniel C. Kummerfeld and D. Ryan Locker.